Ricardo Teixeira will remain president of the 2014 World Cup local organising committee despite taking a leave of absence from the Brazilian football federation.

The embattled head of Brazilian football released a statement on Friday night confirming that he is temporarily leaving the federation, but he will continue as head of the World Cup organising committee.

The committee’s press office said his absence from the federation will not affect his duties to help prepare the country for football’s showcase event in two years.

Teixeira said former Sao Paulo Governor Jose Maria Marin is taking over the federation’s presidency.

The O Globo newspaper reported on Thursday that Teixeira was granted the leave of absence for medical reasons and could be away from the job for as long as 180 days.

In his brief statement on Friday, Teixeira didn’t mention a medical problem, only saying that Marin would “temporarily” replace him as president. Teixeira’s term as head of the federation ends in 2015.

Last year, Teixeira took leave after being hospitalised to receive treatment for diverticulitis, an inflammation of the inner lining of the intestine.

Teixeira has led the Brazilian federation since 1989 and revamped the body after it struggled financially. During his tenure, Brazil won the 1994 and 2002 World Cups, and the federation became one of the richest in the world.

But his 23-year stint ahead of the Brazilian football has been filled with controversy, and there have been calls for his resignation amid allegations of irregularities in Brazil and abroad, although he has always denied any wrongdoing.

Teixeira’s temporary replacement also has been involved in controversy recently.

Earlier this year, television cameras caught him putting a winner’s medal in his pocket while presenting them to players in an under-18 tournament in Sao Paulo. He later said the medal was given to him. Organisers didn’t accuse him of any wrongdoing.

Some local federations were against having Marin as president and wanted to be able to pick a successor for Teixeira through elections or changing the national federation’s statutes.

The latest accusations against Teixeira came last month when the Folha de S. Paulo newspaper, Brazil’s largest, reported that prosecutors allegedly found evidence linking him to a company that organised a friendly between Brazil and Portugal in 2008 in Brasilia. The company is being investigated for irregularities in organising the match.

Teixeira was twice investigated by Brazil’s Congress and recently was accused of taking kickbacks from former FIFA marketing partner ISL in the 1990s. He was also accused by the former chairman of England’s Football Association, David Triesman, of unethical behaviour and improper conduct during bidding for the 2018 World Cup.

FIFA has promised to release documents on the ISL case relatively soon.